Longmont resident Brian Adams is well aware that when folks hear his name, they're most likely thinking about a Canadian rocker and not about the go-to bassist for many area bands.

In fact, he changed his Facebook moniker to Brian F. Adams, not his real middle initial, because he is "Brian f'ing Adams!"

If you have a Colorado band and need a bassist, you call Adams. In fact, many afternoons and evenings you can find him practicing some new songs for the next gig -- subbing with any number of local artists, that is -- when he is not on the road with the Great American Taxi.

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Fronted by Leftover Salmon's Vince Herman, Great American Taxi is a bluegrass, country and rock band with three albums and a big fan base to its credit. GAT performs at many summer festivals in addition to its own tours, such as a recently announced 2013 winter trek that will include seven Colorado towns. One stop will be Great American Taxi's Jan. 25 performance at the Fox Theatre in Boulder.

Adams used to teach and tutor students on the bass guitar, but becoming GAT's full-time bassist has left little time for those pursuits.

At age 15 and with the prompting of a friend, Adams bought a bass guitar and joined a band.

"This buddy of mine was like, 'Hey, man, you buy a bass, you can be in my band,' " Adams said recently during an interview at a Boulder restaurant. In the early years, Adams listened to the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Primus, Grateful Dead, Paul McCartney, Victor Wooten, James Brown, Stanley Clarke and Phish.

Originally from Springfield, Mo., Adams came to Colorado in the late 1990s.

"I was in a band for 10 years called the Barefoot Revolution in Springfield, Mo., and we actually toured out here in the late 1990s and really liked it," Adams said. "Me and a buddy of mine who is a drummer decided to move out to Colorado in August of 2002 ... (then) he moved back to Springfield and I stayed out here and moved to Vail."

In Vail, Adams met local musician Pete Kartsounes and gigged with his band, Acoustic Semi.

"Brian is one of those people that you can really get to like fast and is easy to get along with both on and off the stage," said Kartsounes, who has known Adams for a decade. "He works hard at his craft and his history proves it.

"He is dedicated to his career as a bassist, and I look forward to many more times personally and musically with this gem of the Colorado music scene."

Adams got his first big break when a former high school buddy told him about an opening in a Phish cover band, Phix.

"I ended up getting that gig at the end of (the 2003) ski season and went on tour with them for five years. Right when Phish was on hiatus," Adams said. "And we toured all over the country ... I got into that band at the right time. We got busy. It was a great experience -- traveling the country and got to meet a lot of great musicians."

After years on the road with Phix and playing in numerous other projects, Adams was informed about the GAT opening by departing bassist Edwin Hurwitz.

"He told me, 'Hey, I might be going to law school, you should audition for this Taxi gig,' " Adams said.

When he's not on the road with GAT, Adams can be found playing with local bands like Dr. Phil Good, the Matt Flaherty Band, the Pete Kartsounes Band and the DeadPhish Orchestra.

"Aside from being a great guy and very easy to get along with, Brian has a monster bass tone that cuts right through the mix," said Paul Murin, who plays guitar in the DeadPhish Orchestra. "He's a creative player, and when the band is improvising, he's not afraid to step in there and feed musical ideas back to you. It makes him a lot of fun to play with."

Adams almost did not pursue music. His first love was baseball.

"I'm a huge baseball fan, St. Louis Cardinals," he said. "And I like the Rockies, too. I definitely support them. I love watching baseball. I've played it all my life. I played through high school. Tried out for the Rockies twice, actually -- one of those open tryouts after high school. I did pretty good but was not quite fast enough."

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